Hat crown corrugating machine



1950 J. A. FARNWORTH :rm. 2,517,187

HAT CROWN CORRUGATING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 4, 1948 FIG.2

INVENTOR.

John A. Fornworth Alfred G. Keeshu Attorney Patented Aug. 1, 1950 OFFICEHAT CROWN oonrlnoa'rmo MACHINE John A. Farnworth, Stamford, and AlfredG. Keeshan, Newtown, Conn, assignors to Mac Laehlan Hats Limited, Inc.,South Norwalk, Conn, a corporation of Connecticut Application March 4,1948, Serial No. 13,046

7 Claims. 1

This invention relates to improvements in hat crown corrugatingmachines, and more particularly to an improved machine for impressingthe inner face of a hat crown adjacent the band line with corrugationsdesigned to impart built-in ventilating, easy fitting and hatconformingproperties to the hat in wear.

Various means and methods for ventilating the inner crown space of a hatduring wear as well as for improving the fit and ability of the hat toconform to the individual head shape of the wearer, have been suggestedheretofore, but, generally speaking, such havenot been acceptablelto thetrade for various reasons, such as expensive construction,ineffectiveness, buyer resistance, et cetera. Recently, it has beenfound that the desirable aims of such prior sug estions are simplyachieved through the provision of vertical corrugations impressed orotherwise formed in the inner face of the hat crown adjacent the bandline thereof, i. e. the line of junction between the crown and brim, andwhich open through the brim to provide air passages to the inner crownspace. When such corrugations are formed in the front quarter of thecrown, they also serve to cushion the hat in the portion of the crownwhich engages the forehead of the wearer, thereby also to impart easyfitting and self-conforming properties to the hat in wear.

Stated broadly, a principal object of the present invention is toprovide an improved and simplified method of and machine for impressingsuch corrugations in the inner face of ahat crownedjacent the band linethereof, and preferably in the front quarter of the crown, which isspeedy, foolproof and requires no special skill to operate. The improvedmachine for forming such corrugations is also characterized byrelatively simple yet rugged construction, by a minimum number ofworking parts, and by simple and thoroughly dependable operation.

Other objects and features of advantage of the invention will beapparent from the following detailed description both of the method andof a preferred machine embodiment for. carrying out such method asillustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a frontelevation of a hat crown corrugating machine according to the invention,with the corrugating head inlraised or inoperative position;

Fig. 2 is a broken-away side elevation of the machine illustrated inFig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top plan View of the machine with 2 z the corrugatingheadlowered to its operative or closed position; and Fig. 4 is a verticalsection taken along line of Fig. 3. I f Referring to the drawings,wherein like reference characters designate likeparts throughout thesevera1 views,a hat crown corrugating machine according to the inventionessentially com prises a fixed horizontal base or ,brimplate Ill and acorrugating head generally designated :12. The base plate I I1 issupportedjin a box-like sup: porting frame or base shown tocompriseupright side walls l4,l4a, end walls 15, [5a, and a bottom Wall I6,being spaced upwardlyfrom said bottom 7 wall at least the depth of a hatcrown. The base plate is moreover provided with an oval crownreceivingopening llshaped to correspond to the conventional oval of a hat crown.As seen in Fig. 4, the upper surface of the base.is dished or concaved.to correspond to the .scope of the. brim of 'ahat supported in theinverted or crown down position, with crown extending through theopeningll shown in dotted lines.

, Preferably, the base plate isformedasfan aluminum casting ofsubstantial thicknesaalthough it may be cast or machined from othersuitable metals having high heat conductivity. Due to the substantialthickness of the base plate, the edge of the crown-receiving opening lltherein has substantial vertical height, thereby to provide a verticalbacking or abutment surface ;of corre sponding substantial verticalheight for: a hat crown extending throughthe opening. An electricheating element 18 (Fig. 31) is inserted in a 1 suitable apertureprovided therefor in the relatively forward portion of the base plate,thereby to heat the plate in the, region thereof bounding the frontquarter edge of the crown, opening.

The corrugatinghead l2 preferably comprises a part-oval crown block castfrom aluminum or equivalent heat conductive metal ,whose workingsurface,,.by reference to Figs. 1 and 3,,has curvature corresponding tothe parteovalcurvature cf the front quarter portion of thecrown openingI! and hence, of the front quarter of ahat crown insorted in saidopening. Formed in the part-oval working surface of the crown block, asby casting or machining, are a plurality of vertical flutes or ribs 29,hereinafter referred to as vertical core rugations. As seen in Fig. 51,the depth of the crown block below the band line is approximately oneinch; hence, the corrugations '20 are adapted to impress the inner crownsurface of ahatwith corrugations extending verticallyfrom the band linethereof the distance of approximately one 3 inch, it being understoodthat this distance may be varied, plus or minus. The crown block ismoreover formed with a base band or collar 22 of slightly greaterdiameter than the body of the crown block, the vertical corrugations ofthe latter being continued to extend the vertical depth of said collar,thereby to provide a stepped shoulder 23, which is serrated or slottedwhen viewed from beneath, as in Fig. I. Said shoulder is adapted toengage against the under brim surface of the hat thereby to impressshortlength corrugations into the under brim surface as well as in thecrown inner surface. The head is heated as by two spaced heating units24, 24a embedded or set into the crown block as indicated in Fig. 1.

According to the invention, the corrugating head I2 is mounted formovement from a normally raised or inoperative position in which it isdisposed well above the base plate In to an operative or workingposition wherein the head extends into the opening I! of the base plateand has pressure engagement with a hat crown disposed in said opening.To effect this motion, the head is fixedly clamped to the duplex arms26a, 26b of a swinging arm assembly 26, preferably by means of spacedclamps 21a, 211) which embrace the duplex arms 26a, 26b and secure thesame against coacting, spaced clamp seats 21c, 21d which may be castintegral with the head but which are shown to be secured against thehead by set screws 21c, 21 The clamps 21a 212) are secured to theirseats by binding screws 28a, 281) which also serve to secure a spacerbar 29 extending between the duplex arms of the arm assembly and thusmaintaining constant spacing therebetween.

At its rear end, the arm, assembly (duplex arms 26a, 26b) is hingedlyconnected to the base by means of a hinge connection generallydesignated 3B and which may comprise duplex fixed and movable hingeparts 3|, 32, respectively, whereby the arm assembly may be lowered froman upright position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 to a horizontal positionshown in Fig. 4. The duplex hinge part 32 also provides for limitedsliding motion of the arm assembly relative thereto, and to limit suchmotion the duplex arms 26a, 26b are each provided with pairs of spacedstop pins 33, 33a, the spacing between which determines the amount thatthe arm assembly can slide relative to the hinge part 32.

The arm assembly 26 carries a forwardly extending locking arm 34disposed intermediate the forward portions of the duplex arms 26a, 28bthereof, the rearward end of which is formed as a hub 34a pivotallyconnected by pin 34b to the part-oval crown block of the head. The freeforward end of the locking arm is adapted to extend over the front wallI of the base and is formed with downwardly depending ears orbifurcations 35, 35a which pivotally mount a handle 36 on a transversepin 3'! extending between said ears. The grip end of the handle may beweighted with lead or by other suitable weighting means, and its endwhich connects to the arm extension 34 is formed as a cam-shaped lockinghead 36a adapted to lockingly cooperate with a keeper bar 38, for thepurpose of locking the head in pressure contact with the crown of a hatpositioned in the opening I1.. As seen in Fig. 3, the locking arm 34adjacent its inner or pivoted end is adapted to seat in the spacebetween the clamp seats 21c, 21d, the spacer bar 29 limiting swingingmovement Of. th linki g arm relative to arm assembly 26, as isparticularly desirable when the head is in the raised, inoperativeposition shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

As seen in Figs. 1 and 4, the keeper bar 33 may be vertically disposed,and is pivoted intermediate its end by a pin 33 extending between ears40, 40a projecting forwardlyv from a bracket plate 4| secured againstthe front l5 of the machine base. At its upper corner, the keeper arm isformed with a nose 42 which overhangs a curved edge recess 43 adapted toseat the locking head 31a of the handle. The keeper arm is so biased bymeans of tension springs M, Ma operative between its lower end and aspring mounting bar 45 that its upper end tends to swincounter-clockwise (Fig. l).

By further reference to Figs. 1 and 4, the bracket plate 4| is providedwith forwardly extending horizontal ledges 46, 48a against which theheads of screw bolts ll, Ma carried at the forward or free ends of theduplex arms 26a, 26b are adapted to rest when the head is lowered to itsWOIkil'lg position within the aperture ll of the base plate. Engagementof bolt heads on ledges thus determines the depth of insertion of thehead into the aperture, with the bolts providing limited adjustment ofthe depth of insertion of head into base plate opening. It will beobserved that the bolt heads may slide forwardly on said ledges as thecorrugating head is drawn forwardly in its lowered position.

To lower the corrugating head I2 from its raised or inoperative positionillustrated in 2 to its working position illustrated in Fig. 4, thehandle 36 is grasped and the head mounting arm assembly swung forwardly,the corrugating head being thereby projected into the base plate openingll. position, the arm assembly moves downwardly under its weight in thehinge part 32 until stop pin 33 abuts the hinge part. Accordingly,forward movement of the lowered arm assembly and corrugating head isrequired to bring the latter into pressure contact with the inner faceof the crown of a hat inserted into the base plate opening. This forwardmovement may be initiated as by drawing the arm assembly in forwarddirection manually, with the handle 36 raised or partially raised sothat its cam-shaped locking head 36a may clear the nose 42 of the keeperbar 38. Handle 36 is then swung downwardly, with the result that itslocking head 36a seats in the concave recess 43 of the keeper bar, withfinal lowering movement of the handle moving it to an over-centerposition under the bias of springs 44, 44a effective on its lockinghead, and simultaneously drawing the corrugating head forwardly againstthe force of said springs into pressure contact with the hat crownsurface. Due to the over-center positioning of the handle and lockinghead 36, the corrugating head remains locked in its closed position solong as the handle 36 is maintained in its down position.

When it is desired to unlock the machine, the handle 36 is swungupwardly, with the result that the corrugating head retracts slightly inrearward direction by an amount sufficient to cause its corrugatedworking surface to move out of engagement with the hat crown, whereuponthe arm and head may be returned to their upright or inoperativeposition.

Preliminary to impressing corrugations in the inner crown surface of ahat by a corrugating machine as described in the foregoing, it ispreferred to apply a light stiffening composition It will be observedthat in the raised to the hat in the front quarter of -itsinner crown atthe band line thereof, the 'hat being then left to dry thoroughly. Withthe base plate ill -and corrugated head l-2 electrically heated to atemperature of approximately 200", the hat is then placed in themachine, crown-down and with the front of the underbrim"tothe'front ofthe machine. The frontporticn; or the i'DDBT/C'IGWH is then lightlysponged with water. I r

The arm assembly ,26 is now brought down to project the heated head intothe crown, and the headis then drawn forwardlyinto pressure contactwiththe hat crown, being securely locked byoperation of thehandletfi.The hat is "maintained under heat and the pressure of the corrugatinghead for approximately two minutes. This results in the desiredcorrugations being permanently pressed into the inner crown face of thefront quarter portion of thehat ad- 'jacent the band line, andpreferably aisoior ra short distance on to the under brim surface.

The handle 36 is then released and the arm returned to its uprightposition. The hat is removed from the machine and given the usualsteaming and pouncing operations and, finally, it is finished, trimmed,and the sweat leather or band applied in well known manner. Thecorrugations remain in the hat and, although masked by the sweat band,provide a multiplicity of vertical passages or channels between theinner crown surface and the sweat band through which air may circulateto the inner crown space when the hat is worn, and which also impart acushioning effect to the front or forehead-engaging portion of the hatcrown, thereby to improve its fit as well as the ability to conformitself to the individual head shape of the wearer.

Without further analysis, it will be observed that the improved machineof the invention achieves the impressing corrugations into the innersurface of a hat crown as described in simple manner, is relatively fastand sure yet foolproof, and requires no special skill in its operation.The improved machine is also characterized by relatively few parts,inexpensive yet rugged construction, and thoroughly dependableoperation.

As many changes could be made in carrying out the above constructionswithout departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended thatall matter contained in the above description or shown in theaccompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

We claim:

1. In a machine of the character described, a base including a metallicbase plate having an oval opening therein for receiving the crown of ahat supported on said plate in inverted position, a corrugating headincluding a part-oval crown block whose working surface has curvaturecorresponding to that of the front quarter inner face of the hat crownadjacent its band line and is provided with vertical corrugations, meanscarried by said base plate and said head for heating the same, and meansmounting said head for movement from a normally inoperative to anoperative position wherein it is disposed in said opening and itscorrugated working surface is in pressure contact with said inner faceof the hat crown.

2. In a machine of the character described, a base including a metallicbase plate having an oval opening therein for receiving the crown of ahat supported on said plate in inverted position,

a corrugaiting head including a part-oval crown block whoseworking-surface hascurvature correspondingto .that'oi :the front quarterinner face o'fthe hatcrown adjacent its band line and is provided withvertical corrugations, means carried by said base plate and said headforheating the same,.means normally supporting "said head in aninoperative position, and means in- -cluding-said last means forefi-ecting movement of the head into said opening andthence intopressure engagement with said inner faceof the hatcrown. i 73. Inarmachine of the character described, a base including a metallic baseplate having an oval opening therein for-receiving the crown of a hatsupported on said plate in inverted position acorrngating head includingapart-oval crown block whose working surface has curvature correspondingto that of the front-quarter" inner face of the hatcrown adjacentitsband lineand is provided with vertical corrugations, means carried bysaid base plate and said head for heating the same, means mounting saidhead for swinging movement from a raised inoperative position to alowered position wherein it is disposed within said opening andthereupon for horizontal movement into pressure engagement with saidinner face of the hat crown.

4. In a machine of the character described, a base including a metallicbase plate having an oval opening therein for receiving the crown of ahat supported on said plate in inverted position,

a corrugating head including a part-oval crown block whose workingsurface has curvature corresponding to that of the front quarter innerface of the hat crown adjacent its hand line and is provided withvertical corrugations, means carried by said base plate and said headfor heating the same, an arm mounting said head intermediate its endsand being itself mounted for swinging and sliding movement, theconstruction and arrangement being such that the head may be loweredinto and raised from said opening, and when the head is moved into saidopening, it may be drawn forwardly into and retracted out of pressureengagement with said inner face of the hat crown.

5. In a machine of the character described, a base including a metallicbase plate having an oval opening therein for receiving the crown of ahat supported on said plate in inverted position, a corrugating headincluding a part-oval crown block whose working surface has curvaturecorresponding to that of the front-quarter inner face of the hat crownadjacent its band line and is provided with vertical corrugations, meanscarried by said base plate and said head for heating the same, an armmounting said head intermediate its ends and having a hinge connectionwith the base providing for lowering and raising movements of the armand head relative to base plate, and for sliding movement thereofrelative to hinge connection, and cooperating means on arm and base andbeing operative in the lowered position of the head to impart forwardsliding movement thereto, thereby to actuate the head into pressureengagement with said inner face of the hat crown.

6. In a machine of the character described, a base including a metallicbase plate having an oval opening therein for receiving the crown of ahat supported on said plate in inverted position, a corrugating headincluding a part-oval crown block whose working surface has curvaturecorresponding" to that of the :front quarter inner faoe of the hat-crownadjacent its band'lineand is provided with vertical corrugations; meanscarried by said base plate and said head for heating the same, an arm towhich the head is fixedly said arm and on said base for causing .a.final pressure engagement of head on crown surface and for securelylocking the head in such pressure engagement.

"7. A hat crown corrugating machine as set forth in claim 6, wherein thelocking means comprises a handle pivoted to the free end of the arm andhaving a cam-shaped locking head, and

a spring-biased keeper member adapted to be engaged by and t0,1OCkthe'ha,nd1e in lowered position.

r 5 JOHN A. FARNWORTH.

ALFRED G. KEESHAN.

. REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

JUNITEDI s'rATEs PATENTS Number Date V Name 343,438 Crane June'8, 1886-500,682 Vallee jet a1 July 4, 1893 -.-1891,-642 Teitzmann June 23, 19081,350,687 Turner Aug. 24, 1920 2,015,416 Toohey et a1. Sept. 24, 19352,047,230-= Schneider July 14, 1936 2,190,807' Steinberger 1 Feb.20,1940

Snowdon Dec. 15, 194.2

